Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham | |
|---|---|
 Gresham in 2008 | |
| Born | November 10, 1945 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American, British, Maltese |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice-over actor, biographer, film producer, executive record producer |
| Spouse | Merrie Gresham |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | William Lindsay Gresham Joy Davidman |
Douglas Howard Gresham (born November 10, 1945)[1] is an American British stage and voice-over actor, biographer, film producer, and executive record producer. He is one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.
Early life
Gresham was born in New York City, the son of writers William Lindsay Gresham and Joy Davidman. William Gresham was the author of Nightmare Alley, the classic of American noir literature, while Joy Davidman was best known for her book Smoke on the Mountain, about the Ten Commandments. The couple were divorced in 1954, and Joy moved to England with her two sons.[2]
Personal life
Douglas Gresham and his wife, Merrie, lived at Rathvinden House in Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, before moving to their house in Malta in 2008. They have five children: three sons, James, Timothy, and Dominick, and two daughters, Lucinda, and Melodie. Prior to this "He now presides over four farms in Tasmania, Australia, with his wife Merrie and their four children." [from Lyle W. Dorsett's book "Joy and C. S. Lewis" published 1988 in Great Britain.
C. S. Lewis
Gresham's mother had become friends with C. S. Lewis through correspondence, and the friendship blossomed, eventually leading to marriage in 1956. Gresham's mother died of cancer in 1960, and Lewis continued to raise Douglas and his elder brother David. (Lewis had adopted the boys when he married, and The Horse and His Boy is dedicated to them both). At Lewis' death in 1963, his estate went to his brother Major Warren Hamilton Lewis, a renowned scholar of French history. The Major in turn passed the estate to Douglas and David ten years later. Douglas Gresham acknowledged in a 15 November 2005 interview on NPR that he and his brother are estranged,[3] although in a 4 December 2005 interview he did say that they are in email contact.[4] Douglas Gresham is a Christian, as were Lewis and his mother,[5] while David returned to the Orthodox Judaism of their mother's ancestors while still a child in Lewis's home. Lewis made an effort to find kosher food for him.[4]
Career
Gresham hosted Focus on the Family's radio adaptations of his stepfather's most famous works, and his interest in media versions thereof was later shown again when he was named co-producer for the series of theatrical films adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia; he also made a cameo in the first installment as a radio newscaster, the second as a "Telmarine crier" and the third as a slaver.
Gresham came on as executive producer of recording artist Meg Sutherland's debut album in 2014, successfully signing her to Sprig Music in March with producer Christopher Hopper.[6]
Biography
Gresham has written an autobiography entitled Lenten Lands which chronicles his life from birth to the age of 28 in 1973.
A fictionalized young Douglas Gresham is a character in the 1993 film Shadowlands, in part derived from Lenten Lands. In the film, Gresham is played by the American actor Joseph Mazzello. There is no character derived from Douglas' brother David in the film or in the stage play on which the film was based, although both Douglas and David were portrayed as characters in the original teleplay (1985) on which the stage play was based.
Bibliography
- Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, Macmillan (USA 1988) ISBN 0-02-545570-2
- Jack's Life:The Life Story of C.S. Lewis, Broadman and Holman (2005) ISBN 0-8054-3246-9
References
- ^ "JOY DAVIDMAN PAPERS 1926–1964" (PDF). wheaton.edu. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Sibley (1985), pp. 108–12.
- ^ "NPR".
- ^ a b "At home in Narnia". The Age. Melbourne. 2005-12-04.
- ^ "At home in Narnia". The Age. Melbourne. 2005-12-04.
- ^ "Press Release: Narnia Comes To Watertown". New Life Christian Church. Retrieved 4 June 2015.[dead link]
- Sibley, Brian (1985). C. S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands, Fleming H. Revell, ISBN 0-800-71509-8
External links
- More to Doug Gresham than Narnia – one further source
- Douglas Gresham at IMDb
- "In Lenten Lands", Le Penseur Réfléchit, the Mr. Renaissance bi-weekly newsletter, 2001–2002 archive
- Interview with Douglas Gresham
- Douglas Gresham at Library of Congress, with 5 library catalog records
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